


Poster Child

by MsLordess



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: BIG OL FAMILY BONDING PALOOZA, Dungeons Dungeons and More Dungeons, Fluff, Gen, Gravity Falls OC, Hurt/Comfort, I love this family, Pines Family, Self-Insert, every time i think about gravity falls I cry is that normal, may or may not be a vent but oh well, self inserts are valid and i will not apologize
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 19:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19235392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsLordess/pseuds/MsLordess
Summary: After Stan makes an offhand comment about how Carissa refers to him and Ford, the two brothers realize that there’s a bigger issue lying underneath it.





	Poster Child

Carissa was making herself breakfast when Stan said it.  
“Ya know, you don’t need to call me Mr. Pines all the time. Stan’s okay too.”  
Carissa startled, nearly dropping the milk jug and spilling it across the table. “I—what did you—what?”  
Stan looked at her, a small smile beginning to form. “You’re basically a part of the family now, kid, you don’t need to call me Mister or Sir.”  
Carissa shook her head. “No offense, Mr. Pines, but I don’t think I can do that.”  
Stan titled his head quizzically. “Why not?”  
Carissa sighed. “You’re older than me, you’re my superior, so you need to be treated with respect. So I need to use Mister and Sir.”  
Stan laughed. “Kid, I’m pushing sixty and half the time I don’t wear pants, so you can cut the formalities with me. I won’t mind.”  
Carissa chuckled quietly, if a bit nervously. “Alright, Mr... Stan.” She looked up at him and smiled. “I’ll try.”

“That’s 2000 damage to the orc monster! That has to take him down!”  
Ford grinned. “The orc falls over, your sword sticking out of his eye. He evaporates the moment he touches the floor, meaning it was all an illusion.” He winked at the two children sitting across from him. “I wonder who sent it...”  
Carissa slammed her hands down, looking determinedly at Dipper. “It was definitely Princess Unattainabelle. She’s been out for us ever since I accidentally flirted with her.”  
Dipper snickered. “Accidentally? Really?”  
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault she took ‘I love your dress’ as ‘I want to date you’!”  
Dipper bursted out laughing, followed by Carissa grinning broadly. Ford sighed contentedly. There was nothing like a good game of DDAMD, especially with his great-nephew and his friend. Speaking of which...  
“Oh!” Ford said, shifting through game materials. “Dipper, we appear to be out of graph paper. Could you go get us some more?”  
Dipper smiled, making a small salute. “I’m on it, Grunkle Ford!” He scurried up the stairs to the gift shop.  
“Come quickly, my character’s about to level up!” Carissa called after him.  
Ford leaned across the game board to get a better look at the girl. “Carissa,” He began quietly, “Stan told me that when he asked you to call him by his first name, you seemed... a bit confused and nervous. Is it because it was with Stan, or is there another reason?”  
Carissa’s eyes shot up to his, shocked. “Dr. Pines—Ford, what are you suggesting?”  
Ford shrugged. “Just wondering about it. You know that me and Stanley do not mind if you’re not perfect, right?”  
All Ford got in response was a sniffle.  
“Carissa?” He asked, looking up. “Are you—”  
He froze.  
Carissa’s eyes were filled with tears, her face scrunched up in an effort to stop them. Her lip was trembling almost a mile an hour.  
“I—I—” she started, tears stubbornly flowing from her eyes, “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”  
“But—”  
Carissa slammed a hand down, wiping her sleeve across her eyes. “I said,” she repeated, biting back a sob, “I don’t. Want. To talk about it.”  
Ford felt a response bubble into his mouth, but it died the moment his nephew returned with the paper.  
Carissa was drained for the rest of the game, and Ford could tell she was faking enthusiasm for Dipper’s sake.  
And, well, if she noticed the concerned looks Ford sent her, she didn’t say anything.

“G’night, Carissa!”  
Carissa yawned, tiredly smiling at Mabel. “Goodnight, Mabel. If the bed bugs bite, bite back.”  
Mabel laughed. “Don’t you stay up too late—I’ve got a makeover planned for you tomorrow at 11 o’clock sharp!”  
Carissa snickered, turning back to her book. Just one more chapter, and she would go to bed, and this whole thing would have blown over.  
“Kid?” Stan called from the kitchen. “Can we talk?”  
Oh no.  
Carissa sighed, setting the book down. “M’ coming.” She muttered.  
Stan sat at the table, two steaming cups of cocoa in front of him. The moment he heard Carissa come in, he looked up, flashing a conman smile.  
Carissa huffed. “This is about when I accidentally swore in front of the twins, isn’t it?”  
Stan’s smile fell. “No, but we WILL talk about that later.” He signaled to the chair across from him. “Sit down, kid.”  
Once Carissa had sat down, he slid one of the cups over to her. “For you.”  
Carissa quirked an eyebrow, lifting the cup to her lips. “Any reason for this?”  
Stan took a deep breath, his hand unconsciously going to his neck. “Kid, is there something going on back home?”  
It’s a miracle Carissa kept the cocoa down at all, let alone choked on it. She looked up at Stan with a spark of rage in her eyes. “Mr. Pines,” she began, slamming the cup down, “that’s a rather personal question, don’t you think?”  
Stan glared right back at her. “I think it needs to be asked, kid.”  
“Oh, so now you get to make the choice for me?”  
Stan’s face fell. “Choice? Kid, I don’t—”  
“Whether or not I get to tell you why I act the way I do? Why I call you and your brother mister, doctor, and sir? Why I’m constantly trying to protect the kids? Why I never stand up for myself? It’s your choice to decide whether or not I tell you that?”  
Stan stood up, his hands reaching out for the girl across from him. He felt a mixture of hatred and frustration emanating from her as she subconsciously curled in on herself.  
Stan hoped those emotions were targeted at him.  
“There’s a reason why I don’t talk about my family, Stanley.” Tears burned Carissa’s face as the words fell from her mouth. “Gravity Falls is so much better than home for me. Because here, I feel like I matter. Like I’m doing something with myself.”  
“Because guess what?” She laughed gruffly, looking up at Stan. “I’m useless. Worthless. The only thing I’m good for is helping others. And I can’t do that at home. Because no one cares about me there.” The smile faded from her face, replaced with a look of pure despair. “And... and... why should they? I’m not good for anything. I’m... worthless. I don’t deserve anything—”  
“KID!” Stan yelled, shaking Carissa’s shoulders. He looked at her with the most concern she’d ever seen someone direct at her. Suddenly, she was aware of her nails biting into the skin of her palm, the wetness of her cheeks, and the burning of her chest.  
“Oh...oh.” She sniffled out.  
Stan swept her into a hug. She gripped his suit jacket like a lifeline, the tears quickly forming a wet spot on it.  
She giggled slightly. “Sure am glad you wore a shirt for this.”  
Stan wasn’t laughing.  
She began to sob.  
Minutes of crying later, Carissa had managed to stop her heaves and slightly gain back control. She glanced at the stains on Stan’s jacket, sighing softly. “Sorry... about that.”  
“Kid, don’t apologize.”  
Carissa looked up at Stan with a start. “What?”  
“You’re not a burden, kid. You matter to us, even if you don’t know it.”  
Carissa bit her lip. “You’re just saying that.”  
“Despite the countless lies Stanley’s told in his life, this is not one of them.” Ford stated, calmly walking out of the shadows of the kitchen.  
“Ford!” Carissa jumped out of Stan’s lap, her arms crossing over her stomach. “Did you—How much did you hear?”  
“Enough.” Ford sighed, glancing sadly at the girl below him.  
“So you—”  
“Carissa, don’t ever say that you’re worthless, or that you don’t deserve kindness. You deserve to be treated well. You matter. The twins think so, too.”  
Carissa stilled. “The—the twins?”  
A ghost of a smile appeared on Ford’s face. “Do you know what they call you when you’re not around? Big sister. Compassionate. Loving. The funniest person they’ve ever met. The bravest person they’ve ever met.” Ford leaned down eye-level to Carissa. “Please, Miss Folkman. If you can’t believe that you mean something for yourself, believe it for the twins. They love you, Carissa. We love you.”  
For a moment, the room was still.  
In the next, shaky arms were wrapping around Ford’s neck, and a small form was pressing itself into his sweater with a sniff.  
“Oh no you don’t.” Stan laughed, getting up from his chair. “You don’t get away from my hugs that easily.” He wrapped his arms around Ford and Carissa, squeezing gently. Ford and Stan smiled at each other as they felt Carissa relax in their arms.  
“I love you two so much, so much, so much.” Carissa repeated, her arms tightening around the two men.  
“We love you too, Carissa.” Ford whispered.  
“And don’t you forget about it!” Stan guffawed, pressing a noogie to the girl’s skull.  
Carissa laughed, untangling herself from the hug. As she grabbed her book and prepared to leave the kitchen, she turned back at the door.  
“Stan? Ford?”  
“Yes?” The two brothers called in unison.  
A wide smile formed on Carissa’s face. “Thank you.”  
Stan looked at his brother, who nodded. He turned back to the doorway, watching as Carissa walked up the stairs to the attic.  
“No problem, kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> pines family says fuck perfectionism, you’re weird and you make mistakes and THAT’s OKAY  
> self-insert because I can, don’t @ me


End file.
